Dreams do come true

Eli loves "Machines at Work" by Byron Barton, we read it everyday.

Yesterday we were awakened at 7:30am by machines at work. I guess the roots of a tree across the street were damaging a water pipe. The chain sawed the tree down, and then pulled up the stump with a back hoe. They had to replace some pipe under the street as well, and they're still at it today. I wasn't so happy about all the noise going on right outside our house, but Eli is in seventh heaven. He keeps yelling and running back and forth from the window to me just to make sure I know they're still out there. He brought me his book to show me the trucks just like the ones outside, maybe I don't want them to finish. At one point they knocked on the door to ask us to flush our toilet (which is one of Eli's favorite things to do anyways) and I thought Eli was going to have a heart attack: Real construction works were at our door!
I just wish they didn't start so early.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the most fascinating thing about the construction workers. Every time they're doing anything, one guy works and the other 3 watch. At first I felt bad for the guy, but they take turns. This doesn't seem very efficient, maybe they should read Cheaper by the Dozen.

If it ever stops raining maybe we'll leave the house!

Training him young. If we're stuck in the house I figure Eli might as well make use of himself!

Yes, we have cabin fever and can't wait for summer to start.

Eli's watching the squirrels, there's one just above his head jumping from the fence to the tree.

Tongue Twisting and Potato Heads

Eli has been walking around twisting his tongue all day, I'm proud to say he got that from me! He's also learned how to put the body parts on Mr. Potato Head, some of them are quite unique.

The Flu

I woke up yesterday morning and didn't feel quite right. Since then I've become progressively worse, and now I think I have the full blown flu. I'm just praying I don't give it to Eli, but he doesn't have much hope.
Ben has been great this weekend. He's taken care of Eli, made me food and picked up around the house. We're pretty much out of groceries and he offered to go to the store tomorrow before work, as he puts it "Winco has 24 hour savings"!
The only good thing about being sick is that it's an excuse to watch a lot of TV, and hang out in the La-Z-Boy. I'm sure that will get old, but for today it was a nice break (it would be better if I wasn't there because the room spins when I stand up).

I just hope I'm better by Wednesday, as we're having company.

In the yard

Bike Baby

This is another Goodwill Treasure. I bought it a few months ago and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. I didn't think Eli was old enough to ride it, but I underestimated him. I went into the garage to get a hammer yesterday and he followed me in. He went right over to the bike, hopped on, and started riding around the garage.
Last night I cleaned it up, sanded and repainted where some of the paint had chipped, and greased it up. When Eli got up this morning it was a good as new!

Mr. Potato Head

Eli loves to walk around with Mr. Potato Head parts in his mouth. I've been trying to get a picture of him with the teeth for awhile, and this is the best so far. Usually he just has an arm or an ear, and doesn't look so funny.

Playing with Mommy

Better than TV

Eli loves to "help" with the laundry. He hasn't quite figured out the order of things yet. Sometimes things to into the washer from the dryer, or straight from the hamper into the dryer. When he's extra "helpful" he'll get Ben's socks out of the drawers and try to put them in the washer, dryer or hamper! I guess it doesn't make much sense to him, he knows we take things out of some places and put them into others. Thank goodness he can't turn the knobs yet.

Some Favorites

Read a book or two

While I get dressed in the morning Eli reads every book we own. I swear I don't really take that long, he's just a speed reader!

Have a Seat

I bought this cute little arm chair at Goodwill last week. It was covered with the ugliest fabric ever, and had a bunch of holes on the arms. I figured since I've never re-upholstered anything before, I should give it a shot. I love the way it came out, and Eli loves to "lounge" in it. He sits in it so much we think he's always wanted to sit down, but just didn't have a chair his size.
Like most projects I've attempted over the years (stripping paint, refinishing furniture, sewing various projects) I'm pretty satisfied with the result, but have no interest in ever attempting upholstery again.

Purse

Eli likes to carry my purse around, I figure it's okay since he fills it with cars!

Baby Depp

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Celebrity Look-Alikes

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Celebrity Look-Alikes

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Simple Pleasures

We have a set of foam letters for the bath. I am amazed every time we play with them of how perfectly the name Elijah works with them. Not only does Elijah not have any repeat letters (the set has only 1 of each letter), but we don't repeat any colors. To top it off the colors are almost in order backwards: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple and Blue.

Heavy thinking is going on during bath time supervision at our house.
Next to come: fixing the national deficit.

True Color

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Blue

You're blue — the most soothing shade of the spectrum. The color of a clear summer sky or a deep, reflective ocean, blue has traditionally symbolized trust, solitude, and loyalty. Most likely a thoughtful person who values spending some time on your own, you'd rather connect deeply with a few people than have a bunch of slight acquaintances. Luckily, making close friends isn't that hard, since people are naturally attracted to you — they're soothed by your calming presence. Cool and collected, you rarely overreact. Instead, you think things through before coming to a decision. That level-headed, thoughtful approach to life is patently blue — and patently you!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Another Zoo Day

We love the Amur Leopard at the Oregon Zoo.
We saw a sign outside the exhibit a couple of weeks ago stating there are less than 40 left in the wild. It's so sad their numbers are so few, but we're happy to have the opportunity to see them at the zoo.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We went to the park today with the Churches! Eli is crazy and tries to go headfirst off of everything. He loves going down slide, but the swing may be his favorite.